Greater New Orleans

The New Orleans Saints defense has made big improvements in part because of young talent like defensive back Rafael Bush (25), here tackling New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola (80) of the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday, October 13, 2013. (Michael DeMocker, Nola.com / The Times-Picayune)

One year after making dubious
history, the New Orleans Saints' defense is in the midst of an equally historic turnaround.

They've allowed 338 yards a
game to rank 12th in the league in total defense. That's not exactly
stop-the-presses news but it represents one of the biggest year-to-year
improvements in NFL history.

Of course, it's not hard to
improve on the worst season in NFL history. As we all know, the Saints allowed an
infamous 440 yards a game last season.

No team in the Super Bowl era
has allowed 100 yards fewer than the previous season so the Saints have a
chance to make history one season after making history.

The 1998 Oakland Raiders
established the benchmark for defensive improvement. They allowed 284.4 yards a
game after allowing 382.3 in 1997. The improvement resulted in a vault from 30th
in 1997 to fifth in 1998.

The Saints are on pace for an
even more significant improvement.

"We felt like we have good personnel," said Saints
defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who has been the architect of the turnaround. "I
think we've done a good job with the current players of putting them in certain
situations that we feel confident in and they are comfortable with."

Some other defensive
highlights to consider through six games:

--The Saints' 20 sacks have
resulted in 148 lost yards for opponents. That's the most through since 1993 when the
Saints had 22 sacks and 157 lost yards.

--The Saints' 12 takeaways
are the most since 2009, when the Darren Sharper-led unit forced 18 turnovers.

--The 103 points allowed are
the fourth fewest in team history. The 1991 Saints allowed only 53 points in
the first six games. The 1992 Saints allowed only 61 points and the 2000 Saints
98.

Black and Gold Today: Saints offensive evaluation and moreSports reporter Rachel Whittaker and Saints beat writer Larry Holder analyze the Saints' offensive performance through the bye week, including the offensive line and red zone production. Plus hear from Drew Brees, and remember to send in your trivia answers. Watch every weekday for your snapshot of all things New Orleans Saints.

And the Saints have done all
of this despite losing Will Smith, Jon Vilma, Victor Butler, Patrick Robinson
and A.J. Davis to injuries.

"I think some of the new players that weren't
here a year ago have helped," Ryan said. "I think it is probably a combination
of all those things. I think, so far, the scoring element of defense we have
been really good with. I think overall as a team we are playing a more
complimentary game and I think that has helped. We just have to continue
to do that."

Moreover, the Saints should
only improve as the season progresses. Brodrick Bunkley returned to the lineup
last week and he should be joined by a slew of injured teammates in the next
month, among them Roman Harper, Tyrunn Walker and potentially Vilma.

Vilma tweeted Thursday that
Saints coach Sean Payton cleared him to practice on Monday. The veteran
linebacker underwent knee surgery in August and was placed on the injured
reserve-designated to return list in September. It's unclear where, or if, he
will fit into the lineup since Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne have played so
well in his absence. Lofton (53) and Hawthorne (44) lead the Saints in tackles
so far.

And the Saints have proven
they don't have to be dominant on defense to dominate. They won the Super Bowl
in 2009 with the league's 25th-ranked defense. They went 13-3 in
2011 with the No. 24 defense.

No, the Saints don't need to
be great on defense. They only need to be good enough.

*****

Ten more notes and observations on the New Orleans Saints in Week 7:

1. Stingy Saints

One of the main reasons the Saints are 5-1 is
they are playing almost mistake-free football. The Saints have committed just
seven turnovers this season. Matching their lowest total after six games in
club history. The 1977 Saints also committed just seven turnovers in their
first six games. Moreover, two of the Saints' turnovers this season were
inconsequential. Pierre Thomas was credited with a lost fumble on the
desperation kickoff return in the final seconds last week. Darren Sproles also
lost a fumble during mop-up duty against the Dolphins in Week 4. Only the Colts
(5), Titans (5) Rams (6) and Chiefs (6) have fewer giveaways than the Saints
this season.

2. Must-See TV

The local interest in the Saints never ceases
to amaze. The Saints-Patriots game had a household rating of 52.8 and a household
share of 73, according to the NFL and Nielsen ratings. That gave New Orleans
the highest ratings of any NFL market. Around 26.7 million people watched the
game, which made it was the most-watched show on
TV last week.

The Saints' 5-1 start is one of the best in
franchise history. The club has enjoyed two 6-0 starts, in 1991 and 2009. The
Saints have started 5-1 four other times, in 1988, 1993, 2002 and 2006. They
reached the playoffs in all but the 1993 and 2002 seasons. Meanwhile, Tulane (5-2)
and LSU (6-1) are also off to terrific starts. It's the first time in history
that all three teams have started 4-2 or better in the same season. All are on
track to play in the postseason. That's happened only once. In 1987, the Saints
lost to the Vikings in the first playoff game in club history and LSU and
Tulane played in the Gator and Liberty Bowls, respectively.

4. Revisiting a Rare Game

How rare was it for the NFL's leading receiver,
Jimmy Graham, to fail to catch a pass against the Patriots? Extremely rare,
according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Over the last seven seasons, there was
only one other game in which the NFL receiving-yards leader failed to catch a
pass: Brian Hartline against the Rams last October.

One more Elias stat that will make Saints fans
even more heartbroken about the loss: New Orleans nearly became the first team
to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots at home after trailing by at least 10 points.
New England has now won 69 consecutive home games after taking a double-digit
lead, an NFL-record streak that dates to 2001. The Saints rallied from a
17-7 deficit to nearly pull off the victory.

5. Encouraging Stat of the Week

The Saints' 20 sacks are the most by the club
through six weeks of the season since 2001 when they had 21. The 2000 Saints
team, led by La'Roi Glover, Joe Johnson and Darren Howard, had 27 sacks at this point and finished with an NFL-best and club-record 66 sacks. The Saints are currently tied for fourth in the
NFL with 20 sacks. Kansas City leads with 31, which is the fifth-most sacks by
a team after six games since 1963 when team sacks became an NFL statistic.

6. Discouraging Stat of the Week

After allowing 141 rushing yards to the
Patriots, the Saints have slinked to the bottom of the NFL rankings in both
rushing defense (No. 21) and rushing yards per play (No. 30). The Saints' have
played a lot of five-defensive back sets this season and opponents have
countered by running the ball at the Saints' "light" front.

7. Interesting Fact That Might Interest Only Me

Last week's game at New England was significant to Brees
in another way, according to local statistician and First-and-10 contributor Tommy Cooper. The visit to Gillette Stadium was the first for a regular-season game in his Saints career. The Nov. 2 game against the New York Jets
will also be a first, but Brees played in MetLife Stadium last season against
the New York Giants. That leaves just one stadium in which Brees has not played a
preseason or regular-season game since joining the Saints in 2006: Qualcomm
Stadium in San Diego.

8. Tweet of the Week:

"Gold is purified by fire...we experienced some heat
today but I'm looking forward to the finished product. Thankful to be part of this team" - tight end Ben Watson
(@benjaminswatson), 9:11 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 13

9. Quote of the Week:

"We
don't need the Guinness Book of World Records to tell us that we are the
loudest stadium. We already know that we are." - Saints general manager Mickey
Loomis, on the recent "official" world record of 137.5 decibels set by Kansas
City Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Stadium for loudest outdoor stadium.

10. Fearless prediction for Week 7

I will not pick the Saints to lose this
weekend. However, my prediction last week was almost spot-on: Patriots 30, Saints 26. With apologies to Les Miles, I nailed it.